Among young people and then in the first years of his career, Stephen Williams had shown his potential as a climber-puncher: by winning the Ronde de l’Isard (2018) among the hopefuls, then the Tour of Croatia (2021) or the Arctic Race (2023), or even a stage of the Tour de Suisse (2022). The 27-year-old Briton wrote the best line of his career on Sunday by winning the last stage and general classification of the Tour Down Under.
Two French people in the top 10
The rider from Israel – Premier Tech, 2nd in the same second as Oscar Onley, made the difference in the final climb of the last stage, Mount Lofty (1.6 km, 7.3%). The leaders explained themselves in the last kilometer, first with an acceleration from Isaac Del Toro, the sensation from the start of the week, who took over Onley. Only four riders remained together to compete for victory: Stephen Williams made the difference in the sprint to beat Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos), Isaac Del Toro (UAE) and Bart Lemmen (Visma). The podium of the day is also the podium of the general classification.
“This finale was perfect for me,” responded Williams. It’s built for punchers and I was able to hold, hold and hold again. I was able to stay on track, analyze the situation and take advantage of it. I started the sprint at 250m when everyone was dead. » Julian Alaphilippe sprinted to settle the group which competed for 6th place (10” away). The Frenchman from Soudal Quick-Step also ends the week in 6th place overall (at 33”), tied with the announced favorite Simon Yates (7th), and ahead of the second Frenchman, Valentin Paret-Peintre (8th at 36). ”).
